Youthful Drive
SAEC Delegates Join Others for 2025 National Youth Tour
High school students from all over the country represented local electric cooperatives during this year’s National Youth Tour in Washington, D.C.
The 2 delegates selected by South Alabama Electric Cooperative — Lola Drinkwater and Cade May — joined hundreds of their peers to visit historic sites and museums, receive a glimpse of how the federal government functions, and how their local cooperative works for their communities.
“It was a great trip,” says May, a 17-year-old from Banks who attends Pike Liberal Arts School. “I got to meet a lot of great people. Honestly, what was probably my favorite part was getting to meet everybody there. I made a lot of friends with people from all over the state.”
Drinkwater, 17, a resident of Troy and a student at Charles Henderson High School, also enjoyed making new friends through the experience.
“We had good counselors and good tour guides,” she says. “I made a lot of new friends from Alabama and from other states, which was interesting to get to interact with people from other states.”
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association sponsors the annual Youth Tour each June. The event dates back to the late 1950s and now includes more than 1,500 students and over 250 chaperones.
The Alabama Rural Electric Association hosts a statewide Youth Tour earlier in the year, with high school juniors selected to attend by local cooperatives such as SAEC.
Along with learning how elected officials work to pass legislation and visiting the museums, May says his favorite moment was a parade at the Marine Barracks, featuring “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band, “The Commandant’s Own” U.S. Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, and the U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon. May was impressed by the skill of the musicians as well as the synchronized movements and rifle handling by the silent drill platoon.
“It just showed me how well-trained they are and how much time and effort they put into what they do,” May says.
During the visits to museums, Drinkwater enjoyed discovering American history that isn’t discussed as much. The trip to the Holocaust Museum was one she won’t forget any time soon.
“It was an emotional experience, and it was really eye-opening and provided a deeper understanding,” she says.
Drinkwater says she’s glad she applied for Youth Tour and encourages other students to do the same when the time comes.
“It’s a great experience, and it was really worth all the walking around and being tired,” she says. “It’s really a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all the things that we got to go do.”